by Robert Boren
“Thank you. We should have a pretty good idea what’s going to happen within three hours, then.”
“Watch them take off for Bryce’s former position,” Nolan said, a grin on his face.
“That’s what I was thinking,” Sondra said.
“In between thoughts about your boyfriend?” Skip asked.
“Let’s not do that,” I said.
JJ nodded. “Yes, we know what it’s like.”
“Sorry,” Skip said.
“You aren’t in trouble, but we need to be mindful of our situation. Some comic relief is okay. Helpful, even.”
Those comments quieted everybody down, and we settled into the wait. It went quicker than I expected.
“Thank you,” I said, sitting up straighter in my chair. “Won’t be long now.”
“You can still see them moving around?”
“We have the other indicators now, which are usable when they aren’t in a jump,” Nolan said. “That’ll help us going forward.”
Vermillion came on the bridge. “They’ve arrived, haven’t they?”
“Yes sir,” I said. “In orbit around Naelize.”
“They have to know we’re onto them now,” Sondra said.
“Going where?” Vermillion asked.
“What was the former location?” JJ asked.
“Oh, geez, that’s a level two world,” JJ said. “What if they attack?”
Nolan chuckled. “They’ll be sorry if they do that. That world is not one to be messed with. They were probably protecting the Central Authority fleet, and for all the right reasons. Don’t take this the wrong way, but they are a true level two world.”
“What’s the wrong way, Nolan?” Skip quipped. “Still trying to say Earth isn’t a real level two world?”
“I’ve altered my opinion on Earth somewhat,” Nolan said.
“Good,” I said, smiling at him.
“I said somewhat.”
We all chuckled.
“Nolan, you’re something else,” Sondra said, “but we love you anyway.”
“Thank you, my dear. I’ve got great affection for all of you as well.”
“Which direction are they going?” I asked.
“This might be it,” Skip said.
“They’re a level six,” Nolan said. “That’s a clear violation of the treaty.”
Vermillion shook his head. “They’ve already broken that in more important ways. I doubt they’re concerned. Hope they don’t attack.”
“I hope they go down to the surface,” Sondra said.
JJ eyed her. “Why would you hope that?”
“There’s a parasitic disease on that planet. The residents are immune. There isn’t a known cure, and it’s extremely contagious. It’ll go through their ships like wildfire.”
“That’s right,” Nolan said. “There was a paper written about it several years ago. That’s why you can’t get passes to visit that world. Probably why Simone picked that system. Not much chance of being seen.”
“If it’s that contagious, it might be a problem for us,” Vermillion said.
“What?” I asked.
I burst into laughter. “This hasn’t been a good day for the Clan.”
“They’re in trouble,” Nolan said. “The word is passing around about their Razor ships. I’ll bet Stuart and Bryce told everybody how to tell Clan Razors from Overlords or Central Authority Razors.”
“A wounded animal is the most dangerous,” Vermillion said, getting up to pace. “Don’t relax just yet.”
{ 21 }
Data Link
W e continued to scan for Clan Razor activity, sitting in the outer sector of Earth’s solar system. There wasn’t movement of the Razors orbiting Hodge for more than an hour, and no reprisals had been launched at Pentant Simtar.
“This is getting boring,” Skip said.
I shot him a sidelong glance, shaking my head. “I hope it stays this boring. Butch, if a landing party goes to the surface of Hodge, will we be able to see it?”
JJ was sitting in an observer chair, deep in thought.
“Something bothering you?” I asked.
“You don’t think the Clan would use the parasites on Hodge to attack us, do you?”
Nolan turned towards us. “It’s not like they can go down there, grab a few bottles of disease-infected parasites, and spread them around. It’d be easier for them to use one of the normal military germ-warfare products. They’re more advanced than we are in that area.”
Sondra shook her head. “I just looked up some data on the problem. It’s not very well-known. They might stumble onto that planet and infect themselves, and the parasites are really nasty. Outsiders need special equipment to go to the surface safely. Vacuum suits, but also a way to clean the outside of the suits completely before they re-enter spaces populated by un-protected humans.”
“That isn’t going to bode well for Hodge in the future,” Skip said. “They won’t be able to interact with the Central Authority in any physical way.”
Nolan snickered. “You’re acting as if that’s a bad thing.”
“Why can’t they just have their people stay in vacuum outside their ships for a few minutes?” I asked. “That kills most everything.”
“This parasite encases itself like a seed in a split second,” Sondra said. “I’m still reading. Fascinating stuff.”
“Why hasn’t anybody blundered onto that planet and infected other worlds with it?” JJ asked.
“Oh,” Sondra said. “This isn’t as bad as it sounds. There’s a component of Hodge’s atmosphere that no other world has. If the parasites are moved into an atmosphere that doesn’t have that component, they can’t re-produce. Their life-cycle is roughly 21 earth days, and they only reproduce once. They die after reproducing.”
“Male and female?” Skip asked.
“No, each individual is capable of reproducing on their own.”
Skip snickered. “So they can screw themselves, huh?”
“Stop it,” Sondra said. “Don’t be vulgar.”
“Am I wrong?”
Sondra sighed. “No, you’re actually right.”
“That’s not an unknown feature,” Nolan said. “The Universe is full of life which can reproduce via Fragmentation, Fission, Parthenogenesis, and a few other methods. I’m more interested in why the atmosphere of Hodge has this component.”
“What’s this component called?” Skip asked.
Sondra laughed. “Look it up yourself. There’s no way I can pronounce it. Lots of letters.”
“Well, this isn’t a science vessel, so let’s get to the point,” I said. “What happens if the Clan goes to the surface, not knowing about this issue?”
“They’ll bring a plague onto their ships that will last for 21 days,” Nolan said. “More than enough time to kill most or all of the crew.”
“So this might be a gift, but I think it’s unlikely the Clan will choose to go to the surface on a level 6 world,” I said. “Societies on that level have the ability to damage spacecraft. Most of them
have nuclear weapons, for instance. They might be crude, but they break space craft really well.”
“They couldn’t win a prolonged fight with a superior society like the Clan, could they?” Skip asked.
“Of course not,” Nolan said, “but such a society could draw blood. The Clan just lost a third of their space craft, and a few more in orbit around Pentant Simtar. They’ll be careful, and let’s remember something else.”
“What?” Skip asked.
I laughed. “I know where Nolan is going. They don’t know we can see where they are. Hell, they’re racking their brains trying to figure out why they can’t see the Overlords and Central Authority Razors anymore. They know they’re in danger. I think they’ll take off rather than come to Earth.”
“You might be right, Captain, but let’s keep up the scans,” Vermillion said. “I want to head back to Amberis the second they’ve left, assuming they aren’t heading for Earth.”
“I agree, sir.”
“Good. I’m going back to my suite. Talk to you soon.”
Vermillion left the bridge.
“He’s worried,” JJ said. “Wonder what he knows that we’re not being told yet?”
“We just found out that the Clan has about a thousand Razor ships, and they’re in the process of taking back their worlds in the Free Zone. That’s enough for all of us to worry about.”
We sat on the bridge for more than an hour, the tension rising.
“Dammit, I hate this,” JJ said.
Sondra nodded. “You and me both.”
“Which direction?”
“Why’d they leave a ship behind, I wonder?” Skip asked.
“Don’t care, one of their ships isn’t a great danger to Earth,” I said.
“Yes, that’s what they’re doing,” Nolan said. “I’m sure of it.”
Vermillion rushed back in. “Drake just told me the Clan is evacuating our zone. Are you seeing that?”
“Yes, we think so,” I said.
“How many is that?” JJ asked.
“What do you know about it that we don’t?” I asked.
“I agree,” Nolan said. “Stay on it, Dojo, until I tell you differently. Is that okay, Captain Clarke?”
“Yes, that’s best for now. Butch and the others can help as well, if needed.”
“Maybe they sent somebody from the surface, and brought the disease onto that ship,” Sondra said.
“He’s right,” I said. “They might be trying to lure the New Jersey close enough to destroy.”
“Didn’t work for them last time,” Skip said.
“Do the modified flight suits have the scan capability to check this out?” I asked.
“Okay, do it,” I said. “Sondra, work with Butch on that. Let’s get one suit launched. We’ll jump back to Amberis after we get the scans.”
“On it, sir,” Sondra said.
“I’ll go back to my suite,” Vermillion said. He left the bridge.
“Opening Bay 2 door,” Sondra said.
“Bay 2 door closed,” Sondra said.
“All right, since we’re in wait mode, we can start taking dinner breaks,” I said. “And let’s schedule some relief time. Butch, send a message to Andrea about that, please.”
I chuckled. “You’ll excuse me if I choose to stay on high alert.”
We settled into the wait, Skip and Sondra taking off to get food. Nolan, JJ, and I stayed on the bridge.
“Captain, we need to know what’s happening on Devonia Axxiom,” Nolan said.
“What do you think might be happening?” JJ asked, eyeing Nolan’s furrowed brow.
“Did the Clan pull their people out, or are they still running the Central Authority Government?”
“Okay, I hear you, but there’s not a lot we can do at the moment. We have to focus on the safety of our ships and crews.”
“We should chat about this in the next meeting with all the players,” JJ said.
“All the players?” Nolan asked. “Oh, you mean the Overlords, the Central Authority Fleet, and the Samson Corporation.”
“Yes,” JJ replied. “It’s possible that the Central Authority Fleet has connections we can exploit.”
I shook my head. “Bryce was unsure about who was in control, remember?”
JJ nodded at me. “Yes, but that’s when they were in hiding from the Central Authority and the Overlords.”
“And the Clan, as we know now,” Nolan added.
“Simone knows more than she’s letting on,” I said. “She knew to move ships to Earth while we were finishing the rescue attempt. Somebody told her about it. I suspect she’s got a lot of people on Devonia Axxiom.”
“Her operatives,” JJ said, “at the space dock.”
“That’s right,” Nolan said. “Something happened there when she tried to help us with the PA system.”
“You’re assuming she actually got them involved,” I said. “Are you really convinced of that?”
“Why shouldn’t we be?” JJ asked.
“She didn’t seem upset enough about it.”
Nolan eyed me. “Do you know her well enough to make that determination?”
I leaned back in the Captain’s seat. “I don’t know. Probably not. Vermillion might have some insight. We’ve still got too many unknowns.”
Skip and Sondra came back on the bridge with food.
“You didn’t have to race back here,” I said.
“This is ordered to go,” Sondra said, opening her bag, the smell of BBQ seeping out. “It came from a stand. No place to sit there.”
“This is good stuff,” Skip said, opening his bag and sniffing it. “Oh yeah, baby.”
“Hungry?” I asked. JJ nodded.
“You two go ahead,” Nolan said. “I’ll get something later.”
“Okay, see you soon.” JJ and I left the bridge, heading for the transport station.
“I’m surprised Sondra didn’t get dinner with Klemperer,” JJ said.
“We don’t know if that’s serious or not. Sondra threw hints, and he was interested enough to spend a little time with her. Let’s wai
t and see.”
“Oh, all right,” JJ said. “What do you want?”
“I’m easy. Appetizers at the bar would be enough.”
JJ snickered. “Plus some liquid refreshment, of course.”
“Followed by some horizontal refreshment?”
JJ laughed. “Don’t be naughty, or we’ll get scolded by the children.”
I laughed. “Butch, you’re on dangerous ground there.”
“There’s nobody close by. You guys can go canoodle all you want, as long as the work gets done. You’ve got a flight suit to fly, remember?”
“Let’s wait and see what happens.”
We got to the transit station.
“Did you decide?” I asked.
“Drinks and munchies at the bar sounds good.”
We took a tin-can to our favorite bar and grabbed the usual table in the back, me taking the seat against the wall. The barmaid came over and took our orders.
“Good, word must have gotten around,” JJ said as the bar maid walked away.
“What are you talking about?”
“She didn’t flirt with you.”
I laughed. “Oh, please, they rarely flirt with me. Only that one, and she was the exception, trust me.”
“Uh huh. You probably think I ruined that for you.”
I shook my head. “Hopefully you’re kidding.”
“I’m mostly kidding. Here come our drinks.”
“And not a minute too soon,” I said, taking a big gulp of my beer. JJ grinned, taking a sip of her White Russian.
“What’s the next step with our new allies?”
I thought about it for a moment. “We need to make a physical connection, mainly so Nolan can work the module with them.”
“We need to meet physically to work the cloaking issue too.”
“Yes. It’ll be hard to keep from moving too fast, but that’s a must.”